13 February, 2013: Lebanon will become the 165th member of the Cartagena Protocol on Biosafety on 7 May 2013, 90 days after depositing its instrument of accession on 6 February.
February 2013: The February issue of the newsletter of the International Center for Agricultural Research in the Dry Areas (ICARDA) highlights recent research and partnerships related to water, genetic diversity and climate-adapted crops in Ethiopia, India, Iraq, Oman and the United Arab Emirates (UAE).
January 2012: The UN Environment Programme (UNEP)/GRID-Arendal Marine Programme has released the January issue of its newsletter (Marine Newsletter #1), featuring articles on: the Global Environment Facility (GEF) funded demonstration project on the incorporation of carbon and other ecosystem services values into financial markets; the release of the State of the Mediterranean Marine and Coastal Environment Report; and the launch of the World Ocean Assessment website.
8 January 2013: Lebanon's Ministry of Environment and the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN), with support from the Regional Activity Centre for Specially Protected Areas and the UN Development Programme (UNDP), have developed a Marine Protected Areas (MPAs) Strategy.
21 December 2012: The UN Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization – International Hydrological Programme (UNESCO-IHP) has released a book linked to its Water and Cultural Diversity project, titled “Water, Cultural Diversity and Global Environmental Change: Emerging Trends, Sustainable Futures?”
20 December 2012: The Secretariat of the Ramsar Convention on Wetlands of International Importance especially as Waterfowl Habitat (Ramsar Convention) has reported on a workshop to trial a newly-developed Arabic language wetland management planning training programme.
13 December 2012: The five countries surrounding the Caspian Sea - Azerbaijan, Iran, Kazakhstan, Russia and Turkmenistan - have adopted a legally-binding agreement on protecting the Sea from land-based sources of pollution. 
28 September 2012: The Food and Agriculture Organization of the UN (FAO) convened the 21st meeting of the Committee of Forestry (COFO 21) as well as the third World Forest Week, from 24-28 September 2012, in Rome, Italy. The meeting, chaired by Feliciano Kilahama from Tanzania, addressed a number of issues related to the implementation of the UN Conference on Sustainable Development (UNCSD, or Rio+20) outcomes relevant to forests and the forest sector.
28 September 2012: The Food and Agriculture Organization of the UN (FAO) has called for proposals for the EU-supported programme on Forest Law Enforcement, Governance and Trade (FLEGT). The programme supports the sharing of FLEGT-related information, including lessons learned, and supports stakeholders implementing the EU FLEGT Action Plan.
Organized by the Secretariat of the Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD) in collaboration with the Government of the United Arab Emirates and the UN Environment Programme (UNEP) Regional Office for Western Asia, and the Secretariat of the International Plant Protection Convention (IPPC) with financial support from Japan, this workshop will review the existing capacity to address invasive alien species in the region, and consider the need for updating national invasive species strategies and action plans, and national biodiversity strategies and action plans in line with relevant international regulatory frameworks. The workshop has been postponed and the new dates will be announced soon.
| Earth Negotiations Bulletin (ENB) |
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| Conference Reporting Services (CRS) |
